Coming Soon: Maniax Axe Throwing to Open in Newstead

Australia’s original hatchet hurling outfit is finally coming to town.

Maniax's Adam Schilling

Photography: Morgan Roberts

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Photography: Morgan Roberts

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Photography: Morgan Roberts

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Published on 23 October 2018

by Shae McDonald

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Forget going to the pub or yoga after a busy day at the office. Brisbane workers can now try their hand at axe-throwing for a bit of stress release.

Adam Schilling, the man behind Australia’s first hatchet flinging venture, is opening his third venue in Newstead in November following on from the success of his Maniax Axe Throwing warehouses in Sydney and Melbourne.

Similar to darts, competitors throw axes at a target and play in either a double-elimination or round robin competition. Schilling, an airline pilot, says he heard of the sport while in Canada for a friend’s wedding.

“I tried to book in and do it but I couldn’t, it was so busy,” he says.

It didn’t matter that Schilling couldn't try it for himself – the friend getting married was fellow Australian Stephen Thomas, who first fell in love with axe-throwing years before while living in Toronto. Once Thomas moved back to Australia he and Schilling went into business together, opening their first Maniax in Sydney in 2015. They followed with a Melbourne venue earlier this year before Schilling bought Thomas’s share in the business.

Schilling reckons the reason axe-throwing has become so popular is because it’s cathartic.

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“It’s this high-pressure work ethic we have now where people are working long hours in stressful jobs,” he says. “They come in here and they throw an axe and they just release.”

Maniax’s core focus is on bringing people together, be it for birthdays, hens and buck nights, or corporate team-building. The Brisbane facility will feature five lanes designated for group bookings, and, in a Maniax first, the Brisbane edition will also feature four additional lanes dedicated to walk-ins.

“People can just walk in on their lunch break of after they finish work”, Schilling says. “They can throw axes until they’ve had enough.”

Maniax may have been the first axe-throwing business to open in Australia but Lumber Punks beat it to the punch in Queensland, opening last year on the Gold Coast. Its second venture was unveiled in West End in August. Schilling says he’s not worried about the competition.

“They’ve picked up on the good vibe,” he says, adding that Maniax offers a point of difference with its weekly leagues.

Maniax Brisbane is scheduled to open November 10. An eight-week tournament will start in early 2019.